In their final match of the UAAP Season 87 Men’s Football Tournament, the DLSU Green Booters endured their heaviest defeat of the season, falling to defending champions UP Fighting Maroons by a large margin, 7-0, earlier tonight, December 1, at the UP Diliman Football Pitch.
Florenz Tacardon and Joseph Garces each scored two goals for UP, while Liam Lampayan, Raiken Comla, and Jan Donato added the remaining goals to secure the Fighting Maroons’ gallant victory over the Green Booters.
Strikes and struggles
The DLSU Green Booters faced the defending champions’ fierceness early on as UP earned a corner just two minutes into the match. Marco Ditching tried to take control, but the maroon shirts quickly swarmed him, allowing Tacardon to break through to score the opening goal at the 6th minute, 1-0.
Trailing by a goal against a powerhouse defense, Gabe Suarez attempted to ignite DLSU’s offensive push from the midfield. However, Tacardon was quick to respond, taking charge again and slotting a second goal into the box in the 12th minute, extending UP’s lead to 2-0. Defender Adam Abela stepped up to mark Franz Hervias in an effort to intercept the attack, but the Diliman-based squad remained unstoppable. Garces exploited a gap in DLSU’s defense and delivered UP’s third goal, pushing the score to 3-0.
Desperate to narrow the gap, the Lasallians ramped up their force. Abela spearheaded the aggressive charge for La Salle but paid the price with a yellow card, granting Lampayan a free kick which he converted effortlessly to make it 4-0 at the 28th minute. In the process, starting goalkeeper of DLSU Arom Aljama sustained an injury from his diving attempt to stop Lampayan’s shot, forcing the substitution of star keeper Enrico Mangaoang.
Now shifting their focus from scoring to damage control, the Green Booters attempted to stop UP’s relentless attacks. Yet, the maroon shirts remained undeterred, with Comla chipping the ball over Mangaoang to bring the score to 5-0 by the 34th minute.
Despite the mounting deficit, La Salle refused to back down. Players like Dominic Dreyfus, Lucas Aguilar, and Ditching led a spirited effort with quick passes and plays in the dying minutes of the first half, desperately searching for a breakthrough. However, UP seized their final opportunity during added time. Garces found the net once again with a precise strike at 45+3′, closing the first half with a commanding 6-0 lead.
Bowing out
With a huge gap to deal with, the Green Booters began to rely on their defenses as the Fighting Maroons stayed aggressive, with Tacardon chasing his hat trick. But La Salle did not back down as they chased their first goal of the game, amping up their efforts in pressing and stringing together passes. Aguilar got La Salle’s biggest chance of the game after a loose pass from UP, but goalkeeper Eric Cachuela saved his shot to keep the Diliman-based squad’s cleansheet. Suarez also got his chance to test Cachuela in the 54th minute, but the Fighting Maroon stayed sharp between the posts.
Despite the Green-and-White’s bright spell, UP showed off their championship mentality, staying composed and immediately regaining back possession of the ball. With the Diliman-based squad’s added chances, Mangaoang remained composed to protect his home goal. As the pressure mounted up, DLSU subbed in Enrique Vecin, Carlos Andan, and Frank Labayen to add more experience to the players on the pitch.
But in the 79th minute, Donato added to UP’s goal tally and DLSU’s misery, 7-0. With over 10 minutes left, defeat looked very evident for the Green Booters. Suarez maintained his poise in the frontlines by cutting inside and passing the ball to Vecin for a close-range header, but the UP defense immediately cleared the opportunity.
The Fighting Maroons did not let the Lasallian chance affect them, pushing for another goal in the final minutes. No side was able to grab their chances in the final minutes as the referee blew the final whistle to end the Green Booters’ campaign, 7-0.
After the game, Coach Alvin Ocampo shared that the team performed below their expectations, “Quality wise is very below the average. We conceded a lot of goals easily. We lacked the players to fill in the midfield. We are always trying to dig deep on adjustments every game.”
Coach Ocampo nonetheless remains thankful to the Lasallian community for their constant support and their will for the Green Booters to succeed, “We are very appreciative, until the end they were there. Siyempre there would be some that would always criticize, but they don’t know what is happening with the team [and] what’s happening in training and everything. So, it’s a normal thing, but it’s good they voice out because at least they care; Lasallian supporters care for the team.”
The Green Booters conclude the season as fifth placers as they missed out on the Final Four for the second year in a row. They will now regroup in the offseason as they aim to get back to their glory days next season.
